LA GRANDE — The second phase of renovation efforts on Eastern Oregon University’s oldest building are set to start Saturday, July 1.

As part of the $446 million in state bonds to fund restoration projects at the seven public universities across the state, Eastern Oregon University in 2021 received $18.5 million to renovate Inlow Hall.

“We are looking forward to these long-awaited updates that will help make Inlow Hall more efficient and effective in serving students,” said Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice president for university advancement.

The funding, which included about $500,000 in matching funds from the school, allows the university to complete the second phase of its Inlow Hall restoration project. The first phase started in 2009 and was completed several years later. Phase 2 work on the structure will involve steps like completing seismic upgrades started in Phase 1 to make the building better prepared for an earthquake, replacing the building’s clay tile roof system and removing unreinforced brick chimneys.

Seydel said the seismic updates are not optional.

“In Phase 2 of renovations, which we planned a number of years ago, we will remodel a portion of the second floor,” he said. “It improves seismic fittings in case there is a seismic issue. It is required by state code, so we need to improve it. All state buildings have to meet the code.”

Other upgrades will involve replacing electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems with smaller more efficient versions, which will boost the availability of space for other uses at Inlow Hall. The space will be used to provide a more expansive site for Eastern’s Rural Engagement and Vitality Center, according to the capital funding request the school submitted to the state. The center was created to develop partnerships between EOU and entities in the region that enhance the vitality of the region and develop its rural workforce and leaders.

Employees are currently moving from Inlow Hall to other locations around campus, and all student-related services will be relocated to the Gilbert Event Center.

“We are moving everyone out for the course of the next year,” Seydel said. “Things like student services will be in the Gilbert Center so that students do not have to go running all over campus to access things like student accounts or financial aid.”

Construction projects all across the country have been taking longer than anticipated, according to Seydel, though he is hopeful the project on Inlow will take about a year.

“Ideally, the plan right now is to finish up by next summer, so the renovations should be completed in about a year. Construction all across the country is taking a bit longer than planned, though. We are hoping to move everyone back in (to Inlow Hall) by late summer 2024,” he said.

Construction of Inlow Hall began in 1928 and was completed in 1929. Inlow Hall was Eastern’s first building and the only one in place when the school opened in June 1929. It remained Eastern’s only building until the mid-1930s when Ackerman Hall was constructed. Inlow Hall, in the years that followed, has evolved into Eastern’s primary administrative and student support services building.